What Makes a Good Blog Post?

I.               What Makes a Good Blog Post?

1) A good post should make a point. It should engage with the themes and concerns of CS 400Y, as outlined in the syllabus, readings, on the MLS site and in class.

2) It’s also important to be concise in online writing, so try to keep your posts to no more than around 200 words each.

3) Try to discuss your topic rather than just describe it — if your posts simply describe something, you won’t score higher than 50% at most.

4) Your posts should make connections between original examples and our readings, lectures and other course materials. A good post should link to websites, other blogs, or other online material, and should set any such links in context (i.e. explain why you’re making the link).

5) Don't just offer a link without comment or context, but instead offer a value-added link, by annotating, elaborating, discussing and/or explaining your chosen link.

6) A good comment should start a conversation. It's not enough to write ‘LMAO’ or post an emoticon. For instance, you might ask a question about the post that you really are curious about. Or perhaps point to a connection between the blog post you are commenting on and a blog post of your own or from another classmate. A good comment should engage with the ideas in the post and/or in the material that post links to, and should offer new information and/or new links.

7) Some basic blog dos and don’ts:

do focus on the themes and concerns of this course and demonstrate thinking about them

do introduce relevant links and explain your reasons

do respect others on the blog

do edit and revise your posts before you post them — clarity matters. Check spelling and grammar. Cut out unnecessary words or digressions. Make sure your post has a good title. Make sure your links work.

don’t post administrative questions about the course or the blog (ask these in class or on the MLS site)

don’t expect responses from your lecturer to everything you post (there are 50 of you)

don’t post summaries of set readings (we’ve all read them)

don’t post unrelated trivia (get your own blog instead)